Did You Know? --Rainbows

A couple of times, I've had to explain what rainbows are to the kids. I'm surprised how many adults don't know exactly what they are, either. Well, maybe I'm not that surprised.

To begin, don't think of a rainbow as an object; you can't go touch it. What you see when you see a rainbow is just light. You can't go catch a flashlight beam any more than you can go to the end of a rainbow.

White light consists of all colors. When it hits water droplets in the air , the light changes direction (refracts). This change of direction disperses the colors, which appears to you as a rainbow.

 

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